The present invention relates to a traction arrangement for use by a sail surfer or water skier.
Traction arrangements for the above-mentioned use have been known in the art. Such a traction arrangement includes two pulling elements which extend from the user's back to and are detachably connected with a bar-shaped member. When the traction arrangement is used with water skis, the bar-shaped member is connected with a motor boat. The known arrangements for sail surfers is formed as a trapeze of a boat sail and includes hooks or clamps which detachably connect a harness arranged to be worn by a user with the bar-shaped member. Such a traction arrangment is disclosed in the magazine "Surf, Magazin Fur Segelsurfer", 1977, issue 3, pp. 28-30. These traction arrangements possess various disadvantages. They can be connected with the bar-shaped member only after sailing. Their handling is not very good and their mounting can cause damage or injury. In the known arrangements which can be disconnected from the bar-shaped member only by pulling down the latter, there is a danger that the sail surfer in the case of a crash will fall on the sail.
In the known traction arrangements, an integral and longitudinally adjustable belt is connected by its one end to a mast of the sail surfboard and extends through a shoulder, a back, and under a shoulder of the user to a mounting element which is fixedly connected to the bar-shaped member. Here, the belt end is so connected that it can be disconnected by release of a handle. During sailing and turning the handling of this belt is relatively difficult inasmuch as the belt connected to the mast embraces the user's back and must be mounted on the mounting element of the mast. Since the engagement of the belt with the bar-shaped member is fixed by the mounting element, therefore the movability and controllability is substantially limited.
When the traction arrangement is utilized by a water skier, it also has disadvantages. The arrangement which is positively connected with a boat, even if it is relatively quickly releasable, cannot be sufficiently quickly disconnected from the boat and therefore the rope of the arrangement after a water skier's fall moves through the water with a high force and speed that exposes the water skier to an extraordinary danger and can cause injuries.